from scratch baking and cooking blog

Monthly Archives: February 2015

What’s so special about these cookies?? Well number 1 they have one of my favorite ingredients and number 2 there is only 5 ingredients !! You cannot beat that! These are super quick and easy. And husband approved! Also if you are on a gluten free diet there is a bonus because these are gluten free! They are also dairy free. You can also make them no sugar added by using Splenda instead of sugar if you wish. This recipe was altered from Paula Deen’s Magical Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe

I have made this recipe a few times. I made it recently for my husband’s 32 birthday celebration! The original is from Cook’s Illustrated however it is a classic go to for his special day so I must post to apinchofluv.com. It is terribly rich and full of chocolate goodness. It takes time…. a lot of time, I will not lie however this dessert will be well worth the smile on my husband’s face & all the complements in the end.

whites into chocolate mixture to lighten. Using a rubber spatula, fold in remaining egg whites until

no white streaks remain. Pour batter into cooking sprayed springform pan, and smooth the top with a

small cooking sprayed spatula.

3. Bake until cake has risen, is firm around edges, and center has just set but is still soft and tooth pick comes out clean 15 to 18 minutes. (Mine took 18 minutes)

4. Transfer cake in springform pan to wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour. The cake will decrease in size, after all there is no flour or baking soda in the cake the only leaving agent are the eggs.. Do not remove cake from pan.

6. In clean bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip cream, raw sugar, and salt at medium speed until mixture begins to thicken, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form when whisk is lifted.

7. Whisk cocoa powder mixture into melted chocolate until smooth. Using a whisk, fold one-third of whipped cream into chocolate mixture to lighten. Using a rubber spatula, fold in remaining whipped cream until no white streaks remain. Pour mousse using a spatula into springform pan over cooled cake and gently tap pan on counter a couple times to remove any large air bubbles; smooth top with cooking sprayed spatula. Carefully clean any drips from the inside edges of the pan. Refrigerate cake at least 15-30 minutes while preparing the final layer.

Final Layer

8. In small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over water; let stand at least 5 minutes. Place white chocolate in medium bowl. Bring ½ cup cream to simmer in small saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat; add gelatin mixture and stir until fully dissolved. Pour cream mixture over white chocolate and whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, 5 to 8 minutes.

9. In clean bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip remaining cup cream at medium speed until it begins to thicken, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form when whisk is lifted. Using a whisk, fold one-third of whipped cream into white chocolate mixture to lighten. Using a rubber spatula, fold remaining whipped cream into white chocolate mixture until no white streaks remain. Spoon white chocolate mousse into pan over middle layer. Smooth top with cooking sprayed spatula. Return cake to refrigerator and chill until set, I like to have mine set overnight.

To Serve

Using the vegetable peeler, scrape along the edge of a block of chocolate to form chocolate shavings or curls. Sprinkle these on top of the cake. Let the cake set out at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes to make for easier slicing. Run an offset between cake and side of springform pan; remove side of pan. Clean and smooth the edges of the cake by running an offset around the cake.

Enjoy with a strong cup of coffee!

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Today is Valentine’s Day and what better way than to start the day with a red velvet scone topped with cream cheese frosting? I hope today you get to spend the day with your valentine ❤️. I know I am looking forward to spending the day with mine.

4 . Add honey and buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix with spatula however be careful not to over mix the batter.

Fold.

5. Fold in the white chocolate chip morsels if you decide to go this route. I did! Hey it is valentines day.

6. Place the batter, portion evenly into scone pan (make sure it is pre-sprayed with cooking spray).

7. Bake on 400 degrees for 12 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

8. Allow scones to cool in pan for 5 minutes remove from baking pan and allow to cool for 5 minutes on wire rack. I recommend since there will be some drizzling going on to place a sheet of parchment paper under the cooling rack for easier clean up.

9. In the meantime, while the scones are cooling, prepare the icing topping.

Topping Directions.

1. Place all ingredients in microwave safe glass measuring containing ( I recommend not using a plastic measuring vessel) I eventually ruined my oxo plastic measuring cups by doing this.

2. Microwave all ingredients in 5 to 10 second increments mixing with spatula after each interval to fully incorporate and remove any lumps.

I don’t know why I have not tried these earlier…. We make homemade fries all the time. I guess partially because I was afraid of my mandolin. But I don’t know why it is amazingly quick and easy. However please note it is also very sharp! Please use the protective tool. I love using my Actifry for potatoes. I really like this recipe because these potatoes came from my grandpa’s garden.

We had another sleepover this weekend to continue the birthday celebration. We kicked off the weekend by going to the Garth Brooks show. My parents stayed the night and in the morning I didn’t have enough time to make something entirely from scratch. I found a recipe from another blog and modified the ingredients and made some changes. Well these were a Pinterest mess. The Blogger had incomplete directions and clearly used quail eggs. But needless to say overall tasted good. Next time I will make changes (changes to make noted below).

Place frozen hash browns in a medium hot sauté pan with cooking spray to coat pan. Season with salt and pepper. Heat until lightly brown.

.

In the meantime place the crescent rolls folded into a square into muffin tins. Press the dough firmly down into pan (this is one step the blogger forgot to mention and I think will help prevent over spill).

Portion out a heaping TB of ham and hash browns on top of dough.

Set aside. In a separate medium bowl whisk eggs and seasoned salt and salt free seasoning. Pour into measuring cup with spout (this makes for easier pouring into the tins.)

Fill tins about 2/3 full ( don’t follow my pics).

Top with Tb of cheese.

Top with green onion about a heaping 1-2 tsp.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Picture right out of the oven. They look like they have little skirts.

We had a weekend of celebrations for my husband’s birthday. My husband and I’s families came into town. We did all of our favorite things! We went to the strip district to shop. We also had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants and back to our house for Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake. Watched a movie in the new movie room. To top it off we had a slumber party and I made this French toast to finish off the festivities of the weekend long celebration. This recipe was inspired by TOH.